The first step to getting better is admitting that you have a problem—unless you’re a narcissist. Then, the first step to being a perfect human being is admitting to everyone that you know you’re a perfect human being. Step two is probably letting everyone’s adulation for your brave admission wash over you.
Researchers at Ohio University recently published a study on the Single Item Narcissism Scale (SINS), which takes the standard, forty-question Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) that psychologists use for narcissism and substitutes a single question, probably because that question thinks it’s better than all the other questions. The SINS simply asks participants, “To what extent do you agree with this statement: I am a narcissist.”
The study found that the one-question SINS had a strong correlation to the results of the NPI to the extent that it could be considered an adequate diagnostic tool under any constraints where the NPI wouldn’t be practical to administer. In fact, narcissists are even kind of proud of it, as study co-author Brad Bushman told CBS News:
People who are narcissists are almost proud of the fact. You can ask them directly because they don’t see narcissism as a negative quality—they believe they are superior to other people and are fine with saying that publicly.
2,250 participants in 11 independent studies answered the narcissism question on a scale of 1 to 7 with 1 being “not very true of me,” and 7 being “very true of me.” In case the person completing the SINS isn’t as perfect as they think they are, the researchers added a definition of narcissism that reads, “Note: The word ‘narcissist’ means egotistical, self-focused, and vain.”
The study found that people who are actual narcissists don’t see the negative connotation in admitting that they fit that definition. If you’re staring at your screen right now thinking, “Who would even own up to that?” Congratulations! Science says you’re not a narcissist.
(via Jezebel, image via Matthew Oliphant)
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